PUTRAJAYA The Court of Appeal has suspended the jail term of a businessman who has been in Kajang prison since Oct 28 for using criminal force to stop a civil servant from discharging her duties.

A three-member bench chaired by Justice Hanipah Farikullah allowed P Thiagarajan bail pending the hearing of his application for leave to appeal a High Court decision upholding his conviction and sentence.

Sitting with Hanipah were Justices Ahmad Nasfy Yasin and Nordin Hassan.

Deputy public prosecutor Wong Poi Yoke had objected to granting bail to the applicant, better known in corporate and political circles as “Oms” Thiagarajan.

Earlier, lawyer Gobind Singh Deo said two motions were pending before the appellate court – an application for leave to appeal, and one to adduce further evidence.

“In the meantime, the applicant should be freed pending hearing of the leave application or else the appeal could be rendered nugatory as he is only facing a six-month jail term,” he said.

On Oct 28, the Shah Alam High Court upheld Thiagarajan’s conviction and a six-month jail term imposed by a magistrate last year. Justice Ab Karim Ab Rahman, who has since retired, also refused Thiagarajan, 68, a stay of sentence.

Thiagarajan and another person still at large were charged with committing the offence at a car park in Section 25, Shah Alam, at about 12.30pm on June 6, 2017.

He was found to have prevented Shah Alam City Council enforcement officer Rohana Bahari from carrying out her duties.

The offence, punishable under Section 353 of the Penal Code, carries a jail term of up to two years or with a fine or both.

Thiagarajan’s defence was that he was not at the car park.

The magistrate found him guilty on March 25 last year and sentenced him to six months’ imprisonment and a RM8,000 fine. He paid the fine.

The magistrate had also granted his application for a stay of the jail sentence pending an appeal to the High Court, which was unsuccessful.

One of the three questions posed is whether a conviction premised on a case of mistaken identity is sustainable in law.